We have a primetime matchup worthy of the spotlight on Saturday night in the SEC with the Alabama Crimson Tide traveling to Baton Rouge to take on the Louisiana State Tigers. The LSU Tigers enter the game undefeated at home while the Tide are simply undefeated. Alabama enters the week at two touchdown favorites in this battle of top-5 teams despite playing on the road. That differential is the same amount the Crimson Tide beat the Tigers by when these teams faced off last season.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. LSU Tigers
Date and Time:Saturday, November 3, 2018, 8 p.m. ET
Location:Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA
Opening CFB Odds:Alabama -14, O/U TBD
Alabama vs. LSU TV Coverage:CBS
Alabama comes into the game having rolled through their first eight opponents this year and despite being heavily favored in each, they’ve managed to cover the college football spread in five of those matchups.
The 14-points that the Tide are favored to beat LSU by on Saturday represents the lowest spread for any Alabama game this year. Even with some movement in the line heading into the weekend, this will still be the smallest spread for the Crimson Tide to top. Of course, the Tigers are also the best team they’ll have to face.
LSU’s only loss this year in their eight contests game a few weeks ago against the Florida Gators down the swamp. Florida used its homefield edge to top the lightly favored Tigers, 27-19. The Tigers produced similar offensive numbers in yards to Florida, but the Gators won the turnover battle with Joe Burrow tossing a pair of costly interceptions.
Of course, the passing attack isn’t exactly a strength of the Tigers. Offensively, this team is more of a ground team though defense will have to play a huge roll as a premier defense matches up against a seemingly unstoppable offense.
Alabama is first in college football in points scored, averaging 54.1 per game. They’re second in total yards with 564.2 per game and have done an excellent job balancing the passing and rushing attacks, both are elite though Tua Tagovailoa is putting insane passing numbers, completing over 70-percent of his passes with a 25:0 touchdown to interception ratio and 2,066 yards in the air through just eight games.
Tagovailoa doesn’t run much. He doesn’t have to with a ton of rushing talent and options on this team, but he can run with the ball—as can his backup Jalen Hurt—making the offensive attack that much more dynamic.
The Tigers defense will have its hands full when trying to contain this uncontainable offensive force. LSU is one of the more equipped teams to try, but they’ll still need Joe Burrow to have a clean, efficient game under center and Nick Brossette to take control on the ground. Time of possession is huge for this game. The Tigers need to keep the Tide’s offense off the field as much as possible. The LSU offense is more run focused anyway. Burrow can run a little bit, too. The Tigers will try to keep their attack center on the ground game to eat up minutes to help the defense.
Defensively, LSU is amongst the best of the best. They’ve allowed just 15.1 PPG and typically win by controlling the clock and keeping points off the board. This isn’t an offense that can win a shootout. They’re more comfortable in a lower-scoring, close battle. The Tide, on the other hand, can air it out or pound away on the ground. They also bring a good defense that’ll cause fits for Burrow and company.
In the end, expect the Tide to get their points. This offense can only be slowed, not stopped. Still, this matchup features some good defenses. With LSU also likely to pound the ball on the ground when they have possession, it could lead to a lower scoring game than the odds may indicate, leaving the under on the total a good pick at BookMaker.eu depending where the numbers fall.
Live Bet Alabama vs. LSU at BookMaker.eu
The Crimson Tide are No.1 for a reason. They’ve got an unstoppable offense, but their defense has been a bit underrated, too. This team isn’t just about fast paced, high-scoring shootouts. This is complete all-around team that’s been able to crush their opponents week in and week out. The Tigers, however, will be the most difficult opponent for Alabama to date. We’ll see if they can keep the game close.
Keep an eye on how this game shakes out early. The Tide seem likely to walk away from this game remaining undefeated, but if LSU can get on the board early or get an big early stop on defense, that could lead to some early momentum that could keep this game rather close. If that’s the case, jump on the Tigers oon thelive betting adjusted lines at BookMaker.eu to cover the spread.
